What People Are Saying

Welcome To the World of H.L. Stephens

Adventures of a Dreamer and Teller of Tales

Oftentimes the hardest story to tell is your own; at least that is what I have found. I can weave worlds out of thin air and crawl inside of them, revealing to my reader every dark secret of the universe in which they exist. Opening up my inner universe is another matter entirely. It is not so much that I have great secrets to defend from the outside world. In truth, I am as normal as it gets. The challenge in sharing my story is merely that my life is simple and does not mirror the complex and facinating worlds I create in my stories.

I love to write in my pajamas, or 'jammies' as I like to call them. The cozier, the better. (I can easily justify my preference in writing garb because I get up at the crack of dawn every morning to write. I usually have had my breakfast and first cup of coffee by 6:30 A.M. It might not be as simple to defend wearing jammies at 4:00 in the afternoon.) I think the term 'snuggle britches' should be officially added to the Webster's dictionary. I have numerous pairs of these warm, fuzzy pants that do much to keep my backside toasty during my chilly morning writing rituals. I love hot chocolate and what my dad calls 'girlie' coffee...you know, the kind no sailor worth his salt would drink. I am completely inept when it comes to ordering my favorite brew at Starbucks, no matter how many times the server tells me the 'right way' to say it. (Honestly, I don't care enough to remember.....as long as it tastes the same every time.)

My muse is a 10 pound Pomeranian named Peanut Pumpkin Pie. She is my constant companion in all I do, and when I am writing, she is the one who lets me know when I need to take a break. The message is usually delivered via an overstuffed toy being plopped in the middle of my laptop, but the reminder helps keep me unstressed and forever focused on the top priorities in my life. She is the sweetest part of my life and a source of constant amusement. Her blog is so much more interesting than mine, and she has way more friends than I do. And I am okay with that. She teaches me much about life and unconditional love. Peanut helps me to be a better person just by having her in my life. Some of my greatest lessons have come through her little paws, in one way or another, and I am often humbled by how wise and gentle a teacher she can be.

I am a hopeless romantic, and I believe every story has a happy ending if you just give it long enough to develop. My notions of romance spring forth from an ancient vein when concepts like 'chivalry', 'nobility', and 'honor' were as commonplace in their exercise as the sword, lance, and shield were in their use. When love was expressed with actions and great deeds and was not a word of passive emotion.

I view opinions like pinkie toes. We all have them. Some of them are cute. Some of them are not. Most of them should be kept covered, and pretty much all of them at one time or another develop a smell, which means they should probably be kept under wraps and only let out in private. Meaning you probably won't hear my opinion on alot of topics, especially dealing with subjects that tend to irritate people in one way or another.

I am not perfect. In fact I am far from it. Every day, I give myself new reasons not to take myself too seriously. There are reasons why I never became a ballerina and why wearing high-heeled shoes is a REALLY bad idea for me. I try to treat others with kindness, and I attempt to cultivate patience when and where I can. I don't always get it right.

I love my family with all my heart, and I don't apologize for being who I am. I figure people will either like me or they won't. Pretending to be something I am not isn't going to change the outcome. I am pretty much a 'what you see is what you get' kind of person.

So that's me in a nutshell...or at least a quick introduction to some of what makes me tick. I hope you will stick around long enough to learn a little bit more. My heart is in my novels, so to read them is to learn quite a bit about me. I hope you take the time to do so. In the meantime, welcome. Welcome to my world.